Association Between Traditional Chinese Medicine Patterns and Diabetes Mellitus in Japanese Community‐Dwelling Men and Women: The Toon Health Study
Yan Zhuang, Kiyohide Tomooka, Ai Ikeda, Koutatsu Maruyama, Isao Saito, Takeshi TanigawaABSTRACT
Aim
In recent years, Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been utilized to treat Diabetes mellitus (DM), which is classified in TCM as “Xiaoke.” However, the epidemiological evidence regarding the association between TCM patterns and DM is limited. We therefore conducted a cross‐sectional study to explore associations between TCM patterns and DM in a Japanese community‐dwelling population.
Methods
The study included 1776 participants (618 men and 1158 women; 30–84 years of age) in the Toon Health Study. DM was diagnosed using the oral glucose tolerance test, and TCM patterns were evaluated using the Oriental Medicine Health Questionnaire 57. Multivariable‐adjusted logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine associations between 15 TCM patterns and DM, with additional stratified analysis by sex.
Results
In all participants, the multivariable‐adjusted odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence intervals [CI]) for DM was 1.14 (1.01–1.28) for the fluid disturbance pattern score. For women, the ORs (95% CIs) were 0.90 (0.82–0.998) for the cold pattern, 0.84 (0.72–0.99) for the blood stasis pattern, 1.24 (1.07–1.44) for the fluid disturbance pattern, and 1.19 (1.05–1.35) for the lung pattern score. For men, the OR (95% CI) for the kidney pattern score was 1.17 (1.002–1.36).
Conclusion
The fluid disturbance pattern score was positively associated with DM, suggesting that it is a key pathological state in DM. Further longitudinal and interventional studies are required to clarify the causal relationships between TCM patterns and DM.